Race in American politics

The election is next Tuesday. That is not news.

What is news is the appearance this presidential race is not about the ability of the incumbent vs. a former governor, but about race itself. This is a sad realization today.

Barack Hussein Obama has defined his administration for the people, while Willard “Mitt” Romney has sought to protect the wealthy and trim the federal goverment’s programs for the middle and poor classes.

Here in Massachusetts, the Democrats out weigh the Republicans by a large margin.

The only races in contention are the U.S. Senate race between Scott P. Brown (R-Mass.) and Elizabeth Warren on the Democratic side. Ms. Warren may have turned the corner this election, as Mr. Brown has played to the far right too many times.

Here in the 4th District of western Massachusetts, the State Representative race is incumbent William “Smitty” Pignatelli (D-Lenox) vs. Lee Scott Laugenour of the Green-Rainbow Party. The Berkshire Beacon sponsored a debate last night at the Lenox Library (see story on page one).

Rep. Pignatelli looks like the odds-on favorite to win due to his party affiliation and his movement up the ladder into important State House committees which could easily advance the issues facing Berkshire County. Mr. Laugenour may garner enough votes to make this a horse race before the winner is announced.

Back to the race issue, the undercurrent is: “Anyone but Obama.”

How sad, former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu had to use the race card to make the incumbent president seem almost worthless.

“In a blog entry at the Washington Post, Jonathan Capehart excoriates Gov. Mitt Romney surrogate John Sununu for his recent racially inflammatory commentary about Gen. Colin Powell’s endorsement of President Barack Obama.

“During an appearance on CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight, Sununu implied that Powell supports the president only because of his race. “

Just the opposite is true.

According to the Associated Press: “States elected its first black president, an Associated Press poll finds, as a slight majority of Americans now express prejudice toward blacks whether they recognize those feelings or not.

“Those views could cost President Barack Obama votes as he tries for re-election, the survey found, though the effects are mitigated by some Americans’ more favorable views of blacks.”

Aren’t we past the old prejudices of yesterday when the color of one’s skin mattered? Today, Mr. Obama offers us a chance to bring America back domestically and internationally as our leader and has put forth his plans for the next four years.

Pres. Obama deserves a second term to bring the banks into compliance and breakup the logjam which put Congress into a position of non-productive work. He also has a plan to reduce unemployment with the call to make our infrastructure safe and our transportation service second-to-none.

Certainly in Massachusetts, the democratic machine will prevail, but what about the people in other states across America?

Will they go to the Republican side in order to protect the rich at the expense of the poor and middle class?

Or will they take James Taylor’s approach to create a better America by helping our less fortunate in society to succeed in America as part of the dream to remain independent and driven by the success of one’s ability?

Today, as this presidential election draw near, we can hopefully close out this chapter of racism and point to our collective future.

This week, the Sandy storm and its destruction on the eastern seaboard puts Pres. Obama in the position to control the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and disburse monies and manpower to the states and communities hit by the hurricane.

Tuesday, he stood with the American Red Cross and supported their efforts to help people who have lost their homes and provide others with shelter.

This time there is no President George Walker Bush or his FEMA Secretary Michael DeWayne Brown, who resigned in disgrace following Hurricane Katrina in September 2005.

Brown was the first undersecretary of Emergency Preparedness and Response (EP&R), a division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This position is generally referred to as the director or administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). When the president arrived on the scene, he said, “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.”

In truth, he did nothing more than participate in photo opportunities while property was destroyed and people were left to fend for themselves.

Finally off the campaign trail, Pres. Obama, as commander-in-chief, will bring help and support to those who lost much of their prime possessions. This is America, where we help our neighbor and community to rebuild and move forward.

Posted by George C. Jordan III on November 1, 2012. Filed under Editorials,Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry